A Choice To Return
by capturedanimator1
Summary: Harry has been given a chance to redeem his mistakes, but he realises there are problems, things are not the same, and seeing his friends that once fell, will Harry save everyone, and himself?
1. A new beginning

Hello guys ! This is my first of many fanfics (hopefully). There are a few points, however that you need to know about this story.

First of all, there will be no Slash. This might change in the future. (Give me your input).

Next, this story is a time travel fic but it will not be a Perfect Harry one. There will be a lot of plot twists, and turns so be ready for the ride.

Parseltounge, is in *text* as I don't like entering gibberish that no one understands.

Normal speak will be in "text"

Thoughts will be in 'text'.

Please do not confuse the three.

Another thing to note is that the characters might be different than you normally perceive them.

Without further ado let's start!

Voldemort crumpled to ash as Harry defeated him, but there was no celebration. Countless people had died, this day would not be celebrated, rather it would be feared.

It was ten years later from that day. The Wizarding World had greatly changed, for better or worse. Harry woke up from his sleep, and got ready for another day of his regretful life. He sighed heavily and walked out of his door. He saw an old man walking towards him, the man was odd and mysterious. Harry approached with caution as his unfortunate battle experience made him ready.

The man had eyes that had no light in them as if he didn't have a soul, "Do I know you?" The old man stared into Harry's green orbs. "Know me? No, Mr Potter but I know you, the boy who lived the savior of our world. That is what many call you, yet with so much fame and money you do not seem happy. Why?"

Harry looked at the sky as he replied, "I am famous for something I didn't even do, I lost many great friends and family, some died either to Death Eaters or some died simply because I was not strong enough to protect myself, yet no one remembers them. They only remember the Boy Who Lived. If only there was a way to go back in time, things would be done very differently. Sadly, there is no su-"

"Actually Mr Potter, there is a way, you might not like it but it will do the job. Time travel is very dangerous, it is very likely that you will go to a different dimension. I do not know, I have grown far too old, the journey would kill me. All you need to do is stab yourself with this knife directly in the heart." He stated as he handed him a knife that looked very expensive, one of those knives used in rituals.

Harry simply stood, shocked before he muttered, "I d-dont have anything to l-live for anymore, maybe you're lying to me, but I don't care." Without giving himself a moment to change his mind he held the dagger and closed his eyes. "Here goes" he whispered.

The world was blurring around him as he blinked until he could not see anymore he saw black for a second until everything stopped, he felt a horrible pain by which every drop of Magic was sucked out of him. And the next thing he knew, he was being sucked into a void where he went unconscious.

Harry woke up to the loud banging on his cupboard door, Aunt Petunia yelled, "Get up Boy! Don't make me come there!" He replied out of habit, "Yes Aunt Pet-" 'Wait, WHAT!' The gears starting moving in his head and excitement rushed to his body.

He decided to act normal right now since he didn't want to make his "family" angry, he might be an adult mentally, but physically he was still a kid.

He walked out the door and rushed to make breakfast for the whole family, he fried the eggs and bacon and put them into three plates. He managed to save a piece of bacon or two and shoved it down his pocket as he served the food and ran back to his cupboard. He sighed as he munched on the crispy piece of meat.

He knew he needed a wand, but the time to get one was not here yet. With a sudden thought he spoke in parseltounge, *Hello?* He gasped as he realized he was still a horcrux.

He lay on his bed.. if you could call it a bed anyways. Sleep quickly caught him and for once he actually slept in peace without having to worry about his war. The nightmares did not leave.

 _Harry held his wand tight in his hand and fought Voldemort fiercely. Harry ended up winning against him in the duel. He had perished Voldemort. But there was no cheering heard, there was no one around to be happy._

 _Harry dropped to his knees, there was no one to catch him. His head hit the cold ground streaked with blood of friend and foe alike, the world around him blurred._

Harry woke with sweat beading off his face, wiping it off with his sleeve, he got out of his cupboard and went to the bathroom to take a shower, He would try at least. He turned the hot tap on and stepped inside. Efficiently washing his hair, he turned the tap off and wiped off the water with a towel. He tried to tame his wild hair, to no avail.

He quickly prepared his breakfast and that of his 'family'. 'I should get out of here before they wake up..' He slowly tip toed towards his uncles room and opened the door, hoping it would not creak. Knowing how perfect and normal his uncle was, the door prodyced no noise. Harry stepped closer, minding the floor for any obstacles. Harry spotted his uncles wallet and slowly pulled a few pounds out of it, slowly creeping out of his uncles house, Harry stopped a cab and sat inside telling the driver the directions. The leaky cauldron was where Harry was going to. He told the driver to pull up near a weird building that seemed normal for Muggles.

Taking a deep breath, Harry walked in with a hood covering his face. Swiftly he pressed the brick and walked into Diagon Ally. It shocked him, the Wizarding World not in chaos. He walked into Gringots and spoke to the first Goblin he saw. Harry asked respectfully, "Hello, I am Harry Potter, I wish to see my vault." as he lowered his hood. The Goblin looked shocked briefly until he snarled, "Harry Potter hasn't been seen in years, Prove it!" He lead Harry to a chamber where his blood was tested, he was then lead to his vault(s). Harry put around 200,000 galleons into his pouch, charmed obviously. Putting his hood back up, Harry left Gringots.

Harry had gotten most of his school supplies, He was just entering the pet shop, He saw Hedwig! Harry ran up to her and bought her in an instant. The shop-keeper gave her to him after he paid until he heard a noise, familiar...*Stupid Humansss* Harry turned around and walked over to the mysterious looking snake, *What are you?*

A magical snake, obviously.. wait you can sspeak my tongue! * Noticing the attention he was getting, Harry purchased the expensive snake. The snake seemed to be a hatchling, around the size of Harrys palm.

Not worried about the venom, Harry let the snake curl around his wrist. 'Now, What should I call you' Harry thought. Walking aimlessly around in the Alley, a certain Ice Cream shop caught his eye, Harry ran towards it and bought himself a chocolate ice cream. Sitting on one of the empty chairs, Harry looked around at the familiar faces, He saw a bunch of red.. The Weasleys!

Harry knew they could not afford food like this as they had financial issues, Knowing their stubborn pride, they would not accept any money. Sighing, Harry finished his ice cream and walked a bit more, looking at his watch, He saw it was around 10 AM. He saw a trunk shop, The shopkeeper greeted him, Harry nodded back as he looked around at the various trunks. They came in different shapes sizes and colors. Harry asked him, "Do you customize these by any chance?" Seeing his nod, Harry ordered a new trunk made of iron wood trees, decorated with the finest stones and embroided with the finest silk. He asked for there to be a endless charm, a lightweight charm and a notice-me-not charm. He also got it charmed to hold a secret password. Paying an amount that made Harry raise his eyes brows, Harry left with a lighter pocket. He charmed the trunk into his pocket and left to Muggle London.

AN:And this is the first chapter!

if I get some reviews then I will update often, if not then I will update but less frequently.

Please be lenient as this is my first story, I haven't even written an essay since school.

-Xen


	2. A Friend?

He had no belongings as they were useless, he had started practicing daily, he ran until he couldn't and he lifted weights around his Uncle's house. He couldn't pick up a bucket without having to catch his breath, now he could easily lift twice his own weight, not incredibly amazing but better nonetheless. He could run for miles until he had to stop. His body had been improving, his height improved due to the food he ate and his muscles were definetly not prominent but they were still showing some strength. He had named his familiar Hestia, she was currently munching on a mouse she caught, the sight of Harry made her whisper to him, _*Massster when will we leave, I caught my prey masster*_ she hissed happily as she wrapped herself around his neck ready to pounce on an enemy but staying close to his pulse to reassure herself that he was alive.

Harry smiled before whispering, * _Good job Hesstia, we shall leave this evening, I have a surprise for you when we leave.*_

Harry left to get some water, as he was walking around the corner, he bumped into a purple haired girl who gasped before apologizing with a deep blush on her face.

"I am so sorry, I didn't see you there! Do you live around here? My name is Ashley, What's yours?" she kept on asking random questions. He sighed in exasperation and smiled as she reminded him of a special person. He replied, trying to avoid personal questions. "My name is Harry P-, Just Harry actually, I live around the corner, and nice to meet you, Ashley." He said while walking away. She looked down before walking towards her house, with a sad look on her face. Harry immediately understood the feeling of being ignored and rushed towards her and asked, "Uhh, Do you like wanna hang out sometime? I mean its okay if you don-" she suddenly looked up with a bright look on her face and she nodded as she pointed towards her house, and whispered, "I'll hold you t-to your word, just Harry." With that done, Harry walked back towards his Uncles house and sighed as he walked in, hearing the constant bickering of his Uncle. He patted Hedwig on the head as she pecked him lightly on the ear. He knew he had a week at maximum before he had to get to Hogwarts, and even less for the letters and Hagrid. He sat down and listed of everything he needed to do. He was planning on going to Ashleys house soon, so he wore some jeans and a shirt that had some gibberish that he couldn't be bothered to read. He twisted his wrist as he saw the time, headed towards the door, and shouted to his family, "I'm going out! I'll be back late!" as the door slammed into him.

Ashley was picking out a dress to wear, but she ended up wearing a simple shirt that hugged her body and some black jeans that seemed to fit her exactly. She smiled to the mirror before heading down and jumping on a sofa. She whipped her wand out and cast a charm to make her hair stay in place.

Harry rang Ashleys bell once and he heard some movement, he stepped back to give some space as the door opened, revealing a smiling beauty, "Hey Ashley, you look.. nice" He said, blushing. He blamed his hormones. She look at him, head to toe, "Not too bad yourself, Harry". she said with a shy blush creeping up her cheeks. She asked, " So what do you want to do?" Harry grabbed her hand, and said "Let's decide along the way" Harry said with a smile, his words held more meanings than one.

He walked with her and asked the simplest of questions and heard her smallest of problems, he wished life was so simple, he cherished every moment he had in that small walk, as he walked closer with her towards her house, he felt her hand tightening around his and he could hear het breathing faster. Harry suddently felt nervous as he had no idea what to do, "Let's do this again sometime?" he asked her, trying not to hurt her feelings as he knew he wasn't going to be seeing her anytime soon. He knew he had to Obliviate her. A tear slipped down his cheek and Ashley simply stared at him, squeezing his fingers reassuringly, and asked, "What's wrong Harry?" He whispered an apology to her before whipping out his wand, "Oblivia-" Her eyes widened as she yelled, "Expelliarmus!" The shock got the better of him, and his wand was taken. "Wha-What?" His eyes darted around as he looked at her in confusion. She was furious with tears streaming down her face, she threw his wand to him and looked back once before saying, "I thought you acutally liked me, I thought you would have been a friend if not more, you tried to Obliviate me, I wont forget what you tried to do. I don't want to see you _ever_ again." The words bit into him like venom as he took a step back until he took into a run back towards his house.

Harry tried not to think of what he became for a second there, removing memories from someone 'For the Greater Good', Didn't that sound familiar. He doubted a magical person would have a muggle name like Ashley, but he just shrugged. He had more important things on his mind. All the time his familiar hissed with what sounded like disappointment.

 **AN:Sorry if this was a chapter you didn't like, I just wanted Harry to have a friend and realize that what he was becoming wasn't good, next chapter is Hogwarts and lets just say Harry will meet some familiar people. Has he already made an enemy? Find out next time. (This sounds like a TV show xD)**

 **-Xen**


	3. Better Be!

**AN: My first reviewer, I'm so happy, thanks for your review, I cannot express how happy I am! Please review and tell what to improve, your reviews mean everything to me.** **Don't own the Harry Potter Universe**

Harry was getting restless, it was the night before he would go to Hogwarts and he had yet to receive his letter. He decided on acting like dumb kid. The rain poured down so hard that it was making it difficult for Harry to sleep. His eyelids fluttered until he rapidly blinked, hearing loud banging, Hagrid? This time Hagrid had come to Muggle London, rather than on a nasty house. It seemed less..terrifying. Harry seemed excited as he walked down, he saw his Uncle's shotgun bent like plastic and a giant twice the size of his blob of an uncle standing with his head bent due to the size of the ceiling. Harry smiled inwardly but showed fear on his face, or Dumbledore would become curious. Hagrid roared, " 'Arry! You like just like yer father." He said with a sad look on his face. Hagrid gave Harry a bithday gift and this time, Dudly didn't even try to steal it. Harry trodded behind Hagrid before telling him, "Hagrid, I have everything I need and I have my wand as well. Can we go to the train?" Hagrid simply nodded, not doubting Harry at all. Hagrid decided that flooing from Diagon Alley would be easier since he would stand out.

They reached Diagon Alley, and Hagrid bought Harry some ice cream and gave him some money for candy. Harry smiled, he had more than enough but the simple action brought a smile to his face. They walked into the floo room, sort of a large room with floo chambers all over. The floo powder had to be bought though. Hagrid explained how to use the Floo system and they reachrd Platform 9/3 quarters. Little did Harry know that he missed his first encounter with the Weasleys.

A girl dressed in red and black walked through a wall, just in time to see people with flaming hair behind her. She whipped her hair as she heard a familiar sound, she dismissed it after blaming her imagination. Harry picked his trunk from his pocket and enlarged it, after saying goodbye to Hagrid of course. He stepped into the train and stepped inside the first compartement he could find. He put his trunk overheard and sat down near the window.

He stayed like that for an hour or so, before loud chatter could be heard, people were greeting their parents, lovers and friends. Harry felt a pang of loneliness but it left as soon as it came. He had gotten all the Weasleys killed, this time he would not risk their lives. Harry snapped his head to look at a red headed boy with freckles all over his face, he had a smudge of dirt on his shirt, and a curious look on his face, "Is Harry Potter here? My brothers told me he was here, did you know he actually killed You-Know-Who? just as a child. I hope he doesn't go in Slytherin." Harry jusy lazily shook his head and said, "He's famous for killing someone after seeing his parents die. I don't think that's something to celebrate. He might be a bad person for all you know. Don't expect much from someone you don't even understand." Ron looked shocked for a second before turning red and slamming the compartment door.

Harry was just reading his material and revising his topics until he heard a knocking and a creaking sound as the compartments door opened to reveal a bushy haired girl with a look that said she knew everything. There was another person, a nervous looking boy that seemed to be fidgeting, "Have you seen Neville's Toad?" Harry simply shook his head, "Most magical pets can find their owners, I wouldn't worry about it." He saw Hermione eyeing the book in his hand, but he just flipped it behind him. He looked at the both and coughed before asking, "Are you done? " They just nodded and left.

Harry felt a pang of guilt leaving his friends like that, he would befriend them, but he would never see them as His Ron or Hermione.

Prefects opened every compartment and announced that Hogwarts was almost here, And that they were to wear their robes. Harry whipped out his wand and whispered, "Accio Robe" and Harry put it on with ease. The robe was pure black right now, but once one was chosen in a house, The colors automatically readjusted. A certain hat once told him about this. He peeked outside his compartment and saw a line of students impatient to be sorted. Purebloods stood more lazily while 'Mudbloods' stood impatient. He stood in the line as well before the trains doors opened revealing a bearded giant, He led them towards a lake, there were boats that looked like they would easily fall, but Hagrid proved otherwise by sitting in one. He bellowed, "Two per boat!"

The castle made him hold his breath, seeing a beauty rather than destruction.

The boats eventually stopped and a stern looking woman who looked as if she did not accept nonsense stepped out, and let the first years through the welcoming gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ghosts flew about, kids shrieked as they saw the Bloody Baron. Harry saw a familiar face, he couldn't place who it was, They were lead to the great hall, that seemed so welcoming for all. Dumbledore stood, He gave the usual welcoming speech, until he gestured to the hat, Slowly, each student was sorted, _no change there_.

The dreadful moment Harry waited for came at last, "HARRY POTTER!" The stern women shouted, with a strange look that reminded him of regret. Whispers spread among the students before a silence fell on them. Harry Potter walked down the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Everyone held their breath as they were yet to see their saviors face. The hat was on Harry's head and it had what would be called a gasp for the hat. 'Curious indeed, You have been sorted before...shall you choose Slytherin or Gryfindor.' 'They both suit you well, your own desire lies between the houses,' Harry replied with 'I can not go to Gryfindor for there are too many supporters of Dumbledore. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the old man, he just had wrong beliefs.' 'There is a known fact..Slytherin are cunning folk that use any means to reach their ends..' 'Everyone has two sides to them..one they let the world see and one they keep to themselves..' 'Your bravery is there, you would do anything to save your friends, but you know that sometimes being sly..is necessary to achieve what you need..what you desire.' 'Do you know what you need?' 'What your goal is?' Harry was shocked by the way the words affected him, 'I don't know, maybe I never will, I can't sit here to find out though.' 'Very well then.' 'Don't sit here withering' 'Better be SLYTHERIN!'

Silence befell the Great Hall. Students were silenced, some even looked around in confusion. Harry stood, feeling a little light headed, Harry sat on the many benches that sat in the Great Hall. Harry sat down on the wooden bench, he crossed his fingers and looked down, unable to meet the piercing look of his teachers, he was far too vulnerable as his mind was weak.

"Hello Harry," said a prefect. _Death Eater_.

"Uh, Hey." Dumbledore did not seem fazed, his eyes stopped twinkling a while ago, he announced something about the corridor but Harry tuned him out. He looked around the hall until he met a very familiar set of eyes..

 **I'M SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD IDEA WHO THAT IS. This won't be an evil fic, but not a light one either. One side is never right, it's the inbetween that is right. Killing is wrong, But necessary.** **I got like 3 people following this story OMG :)**


	4. AN

AN: I haven't gotten a review in a while now, I'll continue but maybe I will have to abandon / I write fan fiction for others to enjoy but if there is no one :( you get the point.


	5. The Gathering of the Clouds

Harry saw purple hair, he had a pretty good idea who it belonged to. He knew she was a witch, he expected her to be at Hogwarts but he had hoped she wouldn't be. He took a plate and served himself to some chicken and finished it off with pumpkin juice and lemon pudding. The food was amazing at Hogwarts, perhaps that was because Harry had no other food.

After a while, Dumbledore gestured to the Heads of their Houses to take their students to their respective houses.

Harry stood along with the nervous first years. He was perfectly calm, he was trying his best not to flinch at the glares from his own friends. Harry didn't blame them, death eaters were almost always from Slytherin. Professor Snape lead them through the Hall and into the dungeons where they would mostly spend their time.

The password seemed to be **_Sly_. **_Too predictable, but then they were first years._

Harry walked along the eerie yet welcoming to the great House of Slytherin. After they reached what looked like the common room, derocated in green, the banners seemed to shine. The floor looked as if it was made of the softest carpet. It seemed like a comfortable place. The sudden feeling made him realize how tired he was. They stopped at a point, the billowing of Snape's robes frightened many first years. It made Harry disappointed that a prestigious Death Eater like Snape would be happy at making children miserable. _At least he doesn't kill them._ "Mr. Potter, are we too good to have your attention? 5 points from Slytherin." All heads snapped towards Harry and showed him hatred. He understood that the hate was not related to the house points. _They lost their families as well._

After a boring speech by Snape, Harry simply went to his quarters, shared by no other than Draco _Malfoy._ Draco always showed potential as he regretted killing. Harry always appreciated how Draco had the bravery to show defiance in front of Voldemort and his own parents. His parents showed regret as they saw what happened. They wanted power, not bloodshed. Harry decided he would try his best to change all those in Slytherin.

He crawled under the covers after casting a few charms to prevent any surprise.

Sleep quickly caught him, and he didn't have the energy to dream, or nightmare?

He was woken by the water running in the bathroom adjacent to him. It was a circular room with two slits opposite to each other, the slits had carvings of snakes and a bathroom. Inside the circle there were two beds beside the slits and a side table on each. In the center, there was a rectangular table that had two soft chairs.

He had potions first; all students had classes with their Heads first. A few boys walked behind him and whispered, "We got first class with Gryfindor, maybe we'll get the points that **Potter** lost." Saying the last words as if knowing he was overhearing.

Harry did not miss the venom in his tone. He entered the class, and sat with Draco Malfoy. He greeted him, Draco not hating him yet, simply nodded to him. Snape walked in and removed around 50 points from Gryfindor for breathing. _Ah. The good old days._ "Mr. Potter, Our new **_Celibrity. . ._** Answer this, What is inside the stomach of a goat?" Harry did not want to embarrass Snape, knowing he held onto his scary look for his sanity. His family and love were dead. Who wouldn't go insane? He would try to help him forgive himself. "No, Sir I don't know." Snape smirked and cut 10 points.

Harry walked out feeling satisfied with his near perfect potion. A hand grabbed his shoulder and he snapped his head towards the direction of the hand, and glared at the person. Harry had realized that no students were around. A group of 7th years circled Harry with their wands drawn. Harry snapped his wand up with his wrist, nearby breaking it. However, he was outnumbered and lost his wand to a Expelliarmus. Harry glanced around him, remembering the faces of each of the attackers, running wouldn't help, they would just stun him. "What do you want?" Harry said in a bored yet menacing way.

"You've been losing far too many points, **Potter."** _Pathetic excuses, even worse than the old man._ Harry was not willing to unleash his power or Dumbledore would be alerted by the wards. He simply let the Reducto curse hit his chest before everything went blank.

Harry woke up to the sound of feet shuffling beside him, he groaned as he sat up, and rapidly blinked away the sleep.

"Hello Mister Potter, I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. You see, my boy, you were gravely injured. A spell is powered by emotion. A Reducto should not cause more than a gash, but the one you were hit with, it had broken your ribs. You are quite lucky my boy. Perhaps it is not luck, Perhaps it is fate.

A bone barely missed your heart. Just like the killing curse barely missed you. I believe they both hit you, and you seemed to have... deflected them," as he pointed towards another bed where his attacker lay. "Sir, I didn't mean t-" Dumbledore pointed a finger for him to stop talking. He looked outside the glass panels which served to let sunlight pass through.

Dumbledore saw darkness covering the sky, like ghosts flying in the sky, except they were darker, and coming fast. _DEATH EATERS._ Dumbledore whipped out his elder wand, his eyes radiating with anger.

Harry sat up as he grabbed his wand and crouched on the side of a bed. The sound of flight, cutting through air was getting closer. Harry could see the face of a Death Eater. The leader; **VOLDEMORT.**

 **AN: I dont like violence that much but sometimes it is necessary. Harry needs to realize that it is not that easy to defeat the Dark Lord. Many magical people sacrificed themselves and then by sheer bravery anf luck, Harry managed to defeat him. Also tell me on which ships you guys want. I love you guys**

 **-Xen**


End file.
